Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Coastal communities are among the most vulnerable to climate risks. In spite of the negligence of climate policy at the federal level, state and local governments have taken a variety of policy actions to adapt to climate change impacts. Using national-level data from the Local Climate Change Policy (LCCP) project, this research examines three aspects of coastal community adaption efforts. First, it outlines the variation of perceived threats, prioritization of climate risks and adaptation activities among coastal communities. Second, it tests the relative importance of risk, sociodemographic characteristics and political partisanship. Lastly, the analysis examines the nature of collaborative policy networks around climate issues. The aim is to address whether the structure of policy networks differ according to characteristics of coastal communities and the nature of the climate risks. It concludes with implications for more effective climate policy, networked governance theory and a better understanding of the role of local governments.